The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control issued a variety of directives over the past two months in order to clarify and streamline/reduce mandatory quarantine procedures for approved travelers entering Vietnam. This is good news for incoming travelers (especially those already vaccinated) as previous to these directives, the mandatory hotel quarantine was 21 days (plus an additional 7 days of self-quarantine). In brief, current quarantine periods are as follows (more details follow):
For fully vaccinated travelers:
- 7-day government-approved quarantine hotel, plus an additional 7 days self-quarantine at a regular hotel or residence.
For non-vaccinated travelers (or vaccinated travelers entering with non-vaccinated family members/children)
- 14-day government-approved quarantine hotel, plus an additional 14 days self-quarantine at a regular hotel or residence.
Below are more details on current mandatory quarantine guidelines:
For Fully Vaccinated, Approved Travelers:
As per directive OL6288: Mandatory hotel quarantine is 7 days, followed by an additional 7 days of self-quarantine* served either in a regular hotel or residence.
Notes:
- Travelers must have received a full dose/course of COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days (but not more than 12 months) prior to their entry to Vietnam. There is no “approved list” for which vaccines are valid.
- Travelers must also obtain an RT-PRC or RT-LAMP within 72 hours before departing their home country (this requirement has been in place for over a year).
- Regarding proof of vaccination, there is a list of 34 approved countries whose vaccination certificates do not need to be notarized or legalized by a Vietnamese embassy or consulate. For those travelers who have not received their vaccination certificate from the 34 countries in the list, they must go through the notarization/legalization process at a Vietnamese embassy or consulate (thereby increasing the time for paperwork preparation). You may view the current list of countries by clicking here. It is best to check directly with the quarantine hotel the traveler will be booking with to ensure the vaccine certificate is acceptable for shortened quarantine.
- Those vaccinated travelers entering with non-vaccinated children are not eligible for 7-day hotel quarantine.
For Non-Vaccinated, Approved Travelers (or those vaccinated travelers entering with non-vaccinated family members/children):
As per directive OL6288: Mandatory hotel quarantine is 14 days, followed by an additional 14 days of self-quarantine* served either in a regular hotel or residence.
Notes:
- Travelers must also obtain an RT-PRC or RT-LAMP within 72 hours before departing their home country (this requirement has been in place for over a year).
Other Notes:
- Vietnam continues to restrict entry primarily to business travelers which include technical experts, managers, highly-skilled workers, and their dependents. All travelers must be approved in advance for special entry. The overall process can take 6 6 to 8 weeks to obtain all approvals and complete immigration requirements. Further, hotel quarantine bookings and flights must be done either with a reliable local agent or direct with the hotel in Vietnam. There are various procedures and documentation related to quarantine stay so one cannot simply just book online. Flights into Vietnam also remain highly restricted so again, working with a reliable local agent or direct with the local office of the airline is recommended.
- The situation in Vietnam remains highly fluid with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns. Resident Vietnam must advise on a case-by-case basis in accordance with current requirements/restrictions. Ho Chi Minh City especially is under a currently under strict lockdown until mid-September while many other provinces across the country are at varying level of restrictions.